System, Method, and Apparatus for Injecting a Gas in a Diesel Engine

ABSTRACT

A secondary fuel injection system determines (precisely) a maximum amount of secondary fuel that can be injected into a cylinder during a cycle based upon the rotational speed (RPM) of the engine. A primary fuel injection pulse width of the prior cycle and is used to determine how much heat energy was requested by an engine control module based upon the duration of the injection pulse. Secondary fuel is injected into the intake port of the cylinder after the exhaust valve closes in an amount that is calculated based upon the maximum that can be injected during the allowed calculated time of crankshaft rotation and the amount of heat energy requested in the prior cycle and to include the amount of primary fuel that is then injected into the cylinder is being reduced based upon the amount of heat energy provided by the secondary fuel that was previously injected.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/477,851, filed Apr. 3, 2017, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference.

FIELD

This invention relates to the field of internal combustion engines andmore particularly to a system for precisely injecting a gaseous fuel(e.g. natural gas) sequentially into each cylinder intake valve port ofa multiple cylinder engine.

BACKGROUND

Today, most heavy duty trucks and many other vehicles are powered by adiesel engine. The volatility of diesel fuel prices compared to therelative stability of contract natural gas prices, provides bothbudgetary confidence and reduction of diesel fuel costs when used as asecondary fuel introduced into a diesel engine.

There is an advantage of utilizing a gaseous secondary fuel (liquefiedor compressed and stored in the vehicle) to offset the usage of dieselfuel, as many such gases have a lower cost per unit of energy thandiesel fuel. Examples of such gaseous fuels are liquid propane gas,liquid natural gas, compressed natural gas and compressed hydrogen gas.

There have been many attempts to supplement a secondary gaseous fuel fordiesel fuel in the applications mentioned above. For example, liquidpropane gas has been used as an alternative fuel in spark ignitedengines using kits that provide total substitution of gaseous propanefor gasoline for many years being very successful. However, whenintroduction is made of a gaseous fuel into a diesel engine whereby thegaseous propane is introduced to a single point injector or multipleinjection points into the engine intake manifold or intake air plenum ofthe diesel engine. The theory is that the increase added fuel (secondaryfuel) will increase the engine speed/power beyond what the enginecontroller senses is required or requested and thus the stock enginecontroller will automatically reduce the volume of the primary dieselfuel. The stock engine controller acts, in this case, as a governorreducing the amount of primary diesel fuel provided to the dieselinjectors of the diesel engine, thus managing power output of theengine. In theory, the reduction in diesel fuel injection produces a netcost saving. However, these types of fumigation or multi-port systems nomatter the level of sophistication cannot control the volume ofsecondary fuel being ingested by each cylinder of a multi-cylinderengine. These type fumigation and multi-port fumigation system cancontrol a basic volume ratio of secondary fuel to a primary, but cannotcontrol the actual volume of secondary fuel actually entering a specificcylinder of a multi-cylinder diesel engine.

Another method of reducing diesel (primary fuel) injected into theengine cylinder is done by remapping the primary diesel fuel deliverymap parameters of the stock engine controller. This is not desirable forseveral reasons including cost and variances in OEM fuel maps thatregulate speed and power output of various engines in an OEM enginemanufacturer's engine family, but most important the OEM fuel map isextremely difficult to duplicate exactly, thus use of primary fuelremapping causes an engine to be under fueled or over fueled. Bothfueling conditions are undesirable and can harm the diesel engine.

What is required by the heavy duty diesel users is a blended fuel systemthat will add a secondary fuel (e.g. supplemental fuel) precisely toeach cylinder seamlessly utilizing the stock engine controller and asecondary controller/processor which measures to within one millionth ofa second the OEM fuel mapping (primary diesel fuel injection signalpulse) for each cylinder diesel injection event of a multi-cylinderengine to compute the BTU energy level of the diesel primary fuel beinginjected, which processes that primary diesel fuel signal to constructan injection ratio (e.g. a replacement ratio) of a secondary gaseousfuel based solely on the BTU energy level of the last injection event ofthe primary diesel fuel and the time available to inject the secondarygaseous fuel during a specific cylinder's next intake cycle and modifies(shortens) the pulse width of the next primary diesel fuel injection sothat the exact BTU energy level designated by the original engine fuelmap for a specific cylinder is met using a combination of secondarygaseous BTU energy content plus the BTU energy content of the nextprimary diesel fuel injection.

SUMMARY

In an engine, an engine control module requests injection of an amountof a primary fuel needed to provide an amount of heat energy needed tosupply a requisite power output (horsepower). The request is made by aprimary injection pulse having a primary injection pulse width. Anamount of secondary fuel (e.g. compressed natural gas) containing aspecific heat value (number of BTUs) computed as a percentage of thetotal heat value injected into cylinder during the last primary fuelinjection event, is injected into the intake valve port. The amount ofsecondary fuel provides a supplemental amount of heat energy and,subsequently, the primary injection pulse is intercepted and reduced bythe amount of supplemental heat energy before reaching the primary fuelinjectors.

In one embodiment, a secondary fuel injection system is disclosedincluding a source of secondary fuel and secondary fuel injectorsfluidly coupled to the source of secondary fuel. The secondary fuelinjectors are electrically controlled to inject an amount of thesecondary fuel into an intake valve port of a respective cylinder of anengine. A device of the engine is used for determining the rotationalspeed of a crankshaft of the engine (e.g. tachometer). A processorreceives the rotational speed of the crankshaft and software running onthe processor calculates an amount of time available for injection ofthe secondary fuel into the intake valve port of the respectivecylinder. The processor receives primary fuel injection pulses from anengine control module of the engine then calculates an amount of heatenergy that was injected into the combustion chamber of a specificcylinder during the latest primary diesel fuel injection event bymeasuring the primary diesel injector pulse width and multiplying thewidth of the primary fuel injection pulse by an amount of heat energyper time period based upon data gathered from the OEM published enginespecifications and/or actual tests of the engine. The processorcalculates an amount of heat that is to be provided to the engine byinjection of the secondary fuel and electrically controls the secondaryfuel injector to open after the respective exhaust valve of the engine'srespective cylinder closes, thereby providing the amount of heat energythat is to be provided to the engine by the injection of the secondaryfuel during the next intake cycle of the respective cylinder. Theprocessor reduces the pulse width of the primary fuel injection pulsesent to the specific primary fuel (diesel fuel) injector from the enginecontrol module of the engine by an amount equal to the heat energy thatis to be provided to the engine by injection of the secondary fuel.

In another embodiment, a method of supplementing a primary fuel with asecondary fuel in an engine is disclosed including calculating a maximumamount of secondary fuel that can be injected into a cylinder of theengine based upon the secondary fuel, the number of secondary fuelinjectors interfaced to the intake valve port of each cylinder of amulti-cylinder engine, the flow rate of each of the secondary fuelinjectors, and a time window that is proportional to the rotationalspeed of a crankshaft of the engine. Calculating a maximum amount ofheat energy that can be provided by the secondary fuel injectors isperformed by multiplying a primary fuel injection pulse width from thelast primary fuel injection event of the specific cylinder by an amountof heat per time period that would be delivered to the engine given theprimary fuel injection pulse width. A replacement ratio is determined bycomparing the maximum amount of energy provided by the latest primaryfuel injection event to the maximum amount of secondary fuel that can beinjected by the secondary fuel given the maximum energy volume ofsecondary fuel and the duration of secondary fuel injection time. If thereplacement ratio is greater than a predetermined maximum replacementratio (e.g., 85%), the replacement ratio is set to the predeterminedmaximum replacement ratio (e.g. 85%). The secondary fuel injectionwindow is fixed to a time between the specific cylinder's exhaustvalve(s) of the cylinder close, and before that cylinder piston reachesbottom dead center of the intake stroke. An amount of secondary fuel isinjected into the intake valve port of the cylinder determined by thereplacement ratio and engine speed (RPM) which determines the secondaryfuel injection window duration. When the next primary fuel injectionpulse is received, a portion of the primary fuel injection pulse widthis utilized to reflect the primary and secondary fuels blend ratio andthe remainder of the primary fuel injection pulse is diverted to aresistance load dump coil.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention can be best understood by those having ordinary skill inthe art by reference to the following detailed description whenconsidered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a cut-away view of a single cylinder of a dieselengine of the prior art.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cut-away view of a single cylinder of a dieselengine as modified by the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic view of an engine and controller of theprior art.

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic view of an engine and controller asmodified by the present invention.

FIGS. 5 and 5A illustrate a high level flow chart of the controlleroperation.

FIGS. 6 and 6A illustrates a detail flow chart of the controlleroperation.

FIG. 7 illustrates a calculation for a diesel fuel engine withsupplemental (secondary gaseous fuel) compressed natural gas injection.

FIG. 8 illustrates a calculation of parameters for a diesel fuel enginewith supplemental (secondary gaseous fuel) compressed natural gasinjection.

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate sample diesel replacement rates for a dieselfuel engine with supplemental (secondary gaseous fuel) compressednatural gas injection computed using the logic formula shown in FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferredembodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. Throughout the following detailed description,the same reference numerals refer to the same elements in all figures.

The diesel engine used herein is a heat engine, of which the output(e.g. horsepower of output) is proportional to the heat input measuredby, for example, the latent British thermal units (BTUs) of the primaryfuel being consumed. The cylinders shown are part of an engine thatincludes multiple cylinders, for example one, two, four, six, eight,twelve, sixteen, eighteen, twenty-four, etc., cylinders.

Throughout this description, a secondary fuel (e.g., a gas) iscontrollably injected into intake valve port of a compression ignitionengine, preferably a diesel engine. Although any flammable gas isanticipated, including, but not limited to, liquid propane gas, liquidnatural gas, compressed hydrogen gas and compressed natural gas; theexamples shown will use compressed natural gas as an example for clarityand brevity reasons.

As will be discussed, in general, it is desired to use the primary fuel(e.g., diesel) during high horsepower and high speed and high torque andlow speeds, but in all speed and power combinations throughout thehorsepower and torque curves of the specific engine to supplement theprimary fuel with a secondary fuel, reducing the injection of theprimary fuel while increasing the injection of the secondary fuel inequivalent thermal energy unit amounts (e.g. equivalent BTUs). As oftenis the case, the secondary fuel does not provide an equal ratio ofthermal energy units per unit measure as the primary fuel and,therefore, the supplemental injection amounts are based upon the BTUenergy content of the primary fuel and the secondary fuel, thereforeproviding an equivalent total BTU to the engine.

Referring to FIG. 1, a cut-away view of a cylinder 10 of a diesel engineof the prior art is shown. This exemplary cylinder 10 has a cylinderwall 12, a piston 14 within the cylinder wall 12 having rings 18 thatprovide compression until the piston 14 expands due to heating. Thepiston 14 is connected to the crankshaft 19 by a connecting rod 16.

The piston 14 compresses the air/fuel charge of the combustion chamberat the top of the ignition cycle, heating the air/fuel charge to atemperature that causes auto ignition of the primary diesel fuel.

In some older engines, a glow plug 40 is provided power on wires 42. Atip of the glow plug 40 heats air within the cylinder 10 to provideinitial start-up ignition assistance.

Primary fuel (e.g. diesel fuel) from primary fuel distribution system 52is injected into the cylinder 10 during the compression/ignition cycleby a primary fuel injector 50 controlled by an electrical primary fuelinjection pulse from a primary fuel injection wire 54. In some dieselfuel injection systems, the electrical pulse control is limited tometering the volume of diesel fuel to be injected through a camshaft,cam follower, push rod and rocker arm mechanical system. This type ofelectro-mechanical diesel fuel system is not shown for the sake ofclarity and brevity.

Air required for combustion flows into the cylinder 10 through an intakevalve port 20 during an intake cycle as the piston 14 moves downward(with respect to FIG. 1) and the intake valve 22 is open. The intakevalve 22 is opened by a cam shaft, valve rods, rocker arm, and liftersthat are not shown for brevity and clarity reasons.

As the piston 14 moves downward a partial vacuum takes place in thecylinder 10 causing air to rush into cylinder 10. This rapid inductionof air from the intake manifold (plenum) at the intake valve port 20stops abruptly as the piston 14 reaches bottom dead center (end of theintake cycle) and the intake valve 22 closes. As the piston 14 movespast bottom dead center of its travel and with the intake valve 22closed, the compression/ignition cycle begins. At some point betweenmid-upward travel of the piston 14 and before reaching the top deadcenter of its travel, the primary fuel injector 50 which has beenelectronically or mechanically charged with a volume of primary dieselfuel, is activated by electric pulse (current) energizing an injectionactivation coil or if the primary diesel fuel is injected by mechanicalmeans but has been metered to the injector electronically, the primarydiesel fuel is injected by the primary fuel injector 50 either byelectronic or mechanical means into the cylinder 10 combustion chamber.

During the compression/ignition cycle, the duration of electrical pulsesent to the primary fuel injector 50 by the engine control module 80 isintercepted and measured by components of the precision blendingcontroller 100 to be used during the next intake cycle when secondarygaseous fuel injection 60 a,b, . . . n occurs. Details of this processare in the following discussion relating to FIG. 2.

As the piston 14 approaches the limit of its upward travel, the primarydiesel fuel ignites causing a chain reaction that ignites all theprimary fuel charge, including any secondary fuel charge, driving thepiston 14 downward as the combustion air expands from the latentheat/thermal energy (BTU's) of the primary and secondary fuels beingreleased and converted from latent BTU's in the primary fuel to enthalpyof work.

During the combustion/power cycle and the piston 14 reaching bottom deadcenter of its combustion/power cycle, the exhaust valve(s) 32 ofcylinder 10 open and the exhaust gases exit the cylinder 10 as thepiston 14 moves or travels upward during this exhaust cycle while theexhaust valve 32 is open. The exhaust gases exit through an exhaustsystem 30 (e.g. through a manifold, muffler, pollution controls, exhaustpipe, etc., that are not shown for brevity and clarity reasons).

Referring to FIG. 2, a cut-away view of a cylinder 10 of a diesel engineas modified by the present invention is shown. Note that many componentsof the cylinder 10 are the same as in FIG. 1, with the exception of oneor more secondary fuel injectors 60A/60B. As above, this exemplarycylinder 10 has a cylinder wall 12, a piston 14 within the cylinder wall12 having rings 18 that provide a seal from gas escaping past the piston14 and cylinder wall 10 during compression and as the combustion gasesexpand due to heat of enthalpy. The piston 14 is coupled to thecrankshaft 19 by a connecting rod 16.

Primary fuel (e.g. diesel fuel) from the primary fuel distributionsystem 52 is injected into the cylinder 10 by a primary fuel injector 50under control of electrical pulses (as previously discussed) from aprimary fuel injection wire 54.

Air required for combustion flows into the cylinder 10 through theintake valve port 20 during an intake cycle as the piston 14 movesdownward (with respect to FIG. 2) and the intake valve 22 is open. Theintake valve 22 is opened mechanically by a cam shaft, valve rods, andlifters that are not shown for brevity and clarity reasons. The intakevalve port 20 is modified to include one or more secondary fuelinjectors 60A/60B for injecting secondary fuel (e.g. compressed naturalgas, etc.) into the incoming air during the intake cycle as the piston14 moves downward (with respect to FIG. 2) and the intake valve 22 isopen. During this time secondary fuel is injected into the cylinder 10along with the incoming air. The secondary fuel injectors are connectedto the secondary fuel distribution lines 62A/62B and the amount ofsecondary fuel injected is controlled by the pulse width signal sent tothe secondary injector(s) 60A/60B. This electrical pulse is received bysecondary fuel injector via the control lines 64A/64B. As will be shown,the timing of the initial secondary fuel injection and the duration ofthe electrical pulses sent to the secondary fuel injector(s) 60A/60B iscontrolled to provide specific amounts of the secondary fuel based uponengine revolutions per minute (RPM) (the secondary fuel injectionwindow) and the energy value in BTU's of the primary fuel injectedduring the previous compression/ignition cycle.

As in FIG. 1, after the combustion/ignition and power cycles, exhaustgases exit the cylinder 10 as the piston 14 moves upward while theexhaust valve 32 is open, The exhaust gases exit through an exhaustsystem 30 (e.g. through a manifold, muffler, pollution controls, exhaustpipe, etc., that are not shown for brevity and clarity reasons).

Referring to FIG. 3, a schematic view of an simplified engine and enginecontrol module 80 of the prior art is shown with multiple cylinder 10 s,cylinder 10 a, cylinder 10 b, . . . cylinder 10 c. The primary fuel(e.g. diesel) is stored in a fuel tank 58 and pressurized by a fuel pump56 for delivery to the primary fuel injectors 52 a/52 b/52 n undercontrol of primary fuel electrical pulses from the engine control module80 delivered over primary fuel injection wires 54 a/54 b/54 n. Ingeneral, the primary fuel injector 50 electrical injection pulses aredelivered to each cylinder 10 a, cylinder 10 b, . . . cylinder 10 cinjector 50 during the compression cycle just before top-dead-center ofthe piston 14. The duration of the primary fuel electrical injectionpulse (s) determines how much primary fuel (e.g. diesel) is directlyinjected into each cylinder 10 a, cylinder 10 b, . . . cylinder 10 c.

Referring to FIG. 4, a schematic view of an engine and controller asmodified by the present invention is shown with multiple cylinder 10 s,cylinder 10 a, cylinder 10 b, . . . cylinder 10 c. As in FIG. 3, theprimary fuel (e.g. diesel) is stored in a fuel tank 58 and pressurizedby a fuel pump 56 for delivery to the primary fuel injectors 52 a/52b/52 n under control of primary fuel electrical pulses from the enginecontrol module 80 delivered over primary fuel injection wires 54 a/54b/54 n. In general, the primary fuel electrical pulses are delivered toeach cylinder 10 a, cylinder 10 b, . . . cylinder 10 c during thecompression cycle just before top-dead-center of the piston 14. Theduration of the primary fuel electrical pulses determines how muchprimary fuel (e.g. diesel) is directly injected into each cylinder 10 a,cylinder 10 b, . . . cylinder 10 c.

The secondary fuel (e.g. compressed natural gas) is stored in acontainer 70 that is appropriate for the pressure and temperature of thealternative fuel. A flow of the secondary fuel from the container 70 isregulated by a pressure regulator 72 and distributed to each of thesecondary fuel injector(s) 64 a/64 b through secondary fuel distributionlines 62 a/62 b.

The pressure and temperature of the secondary fuel is monitored using asecondary fuel pressure sensor 74 and a secondary fuel temperaturesensor 76.

Each secondary fuel injector control lines 64 a/64 b is connected to asecondary fuel driver 130 within a precision blending system. As will bedescribed, the precision blending system provides secondary fuel pulsesto the secondary fuel injector control lines 64 a/64 b from thesecondary fuel driver 130 at precise timing moments during the intakecycle of cylinder 10 when the secondary fuel window is open, andcontinues the generation of the signal pulse through the secondaryinjector control lines 64 a/64 b for such duration as has beencalculated to precisely inject the energy value BTU's that will beremoved from the upcoming primary fuel injection event. In the samemanner, secondary fuel will be injected into the intake valve port 20 ofthe respective cylinder 10 a, cylinder 10 b, . . . cylinder 10 c.

During the primary fuel injection event of each cylinder 10 a, 10 b . .. 10 c the primary fuel injection pulses from the primary fuel injectionwire 54 from the engine control module 80 are intercepted by the primaryfuel injection bypass module 110 of the precision blending controller100 and are measured for duration, are shortened per the result ofsubstitution ratio calculations or are simply routed to the primary fuelinjection bypass module 110 of the precision blending system. In thisway, the initial primary fuel injection and fuel energy to be injectedby the primary fuel injector 50 remains in the control of the enginecontrol module 80 but the duration of primary fuel injection and thusthe volume of thermal energy injected by the primary fuel injector 50 isnow controlled by the primary fuel injection bypass module 110 undercontrol of algorithms (to be described later in this application) thatrun on a processor 120 from storage 122. In many embodiments, the enginecontrol module 80 expects a specific impedance of each primary fuelinjector 50 and, hence, a dummy load 112 is provided for each primaryfuel injector output of the engine control module 80. The processor 120of the precision blending controller 100, switches the impedance (load)sensed by the engine control module 80 during primary injectoractivation to the dummy load 112 so that no on-board diagnostic (OBD)primary fuel injector fault is sensed. Otherwise, the engine controlmodule 80 will interpret the difference in impedance as a faulty primaryfuel injector 50. However, the primary fuel injector must be activatedfor a minimal time (for example a minimal time equivalent to 15% of thetotal BTU's required by the engine) which provides sufficient time forthe engine control module 80 to detect a fault of a primary fuelinjector.

Signals from the secondary fuel pressure sensor 74 and the secondaryfuel temperature sensor 76 are converted to digital by ananalog-to-digital converter 134 of the precision blending controller100. Further, an methane sensor 34 (e.g. methane sensor, oxygen sensor,etc.), timing sensor 140 (e.g., engine cam sensor), and an engine speedsensor 142 (e.g. engine RPM) are also converted to digital by theanalog-to-digital converter 134 of the precision blending controller100. The analog-to-digital converter 134 conveys digital representationof the signals from the sensors 74/76/34/140/142 to the processor 120.

In some embodiments, the engine control module 80 communicates with achassis control module 84 by way of a car-area network 85. In someembodiments, the processor 120 of the precision blending controller 100communicates with the chassis control module 84 and/or the enginecontrol module 80 through a network interface 124 connected to thecar-area network 85.

In operation, the precision blending controller 100 collects engine andchassis signal data and calculates a proper blend of primary fuel andsecondary fuel required for the current performance load demand. Theprecision blending controller 100 determines the necessary energy value(blended fuel volume) demand per each engine cylinder. The originalsignals from the engine control module 80 are not modified, except forthe pulse duration of the primary fuel injection signals 54 a/54 b/54 n.As the calculation determines that the amount of primary fuels is to bereduced and supplemented by an amount of secondary fuel, the primaryfuel injection signals 54 a/54 b/54 n that are diverted to the primaryfuel injection bypass module 110 are altered, having a shorter duration,then delivered to the primary fuel injectors 50. This mechanism providesan electronically controlled fuel injected engine having one or multiplecylinders with controls to operate on a blend of primary fuel andsecondary fuel. The OEM fuel system remains the active or primary fuelsystem while the precision blending controller 100 determines thepercentage of the total energy value to be substituted by volume ofsecondary fuel injected into each cylinder during a fuel injectionevent.

The secondary fuel is required to be injected before the primary fuelinjection period. Therefore, the primary fuel injection pulse width fromthe previous cycle is used to determine the amount of secondary fuel tobe injected in the current cycle as well as the reduction in the primaryfuel pulse width such that less fuel is injected in the current cyclefor the cylinder. Actually, the substitution of the primary fuel withthe secondary fuel is one full cycle per cylinder behind the demand ofthe driver, the time required at 1100 RPM is approximately 0.11 secondsbehind where the engine would be if it ran 100% on the primary fuel.This time delay is of no significance in that the time delay cannot besensed by humans operating the engine and the time lag only occurs atthe beginning of the fuel blending process. Therefore, the driver feelsno difference in response of the engine.

Briefly, the operational sequence for each blended fuel cycle of eachcylinder:

-   -   1. Crankshaft speed (RPM) is monitored and used to determine the        secondary fuel injection window duration (e.g. in microseconds).    -   2. The maximum BTU content of the secondary fuel that can be        injected during the “open” secondary fuel injection window (at        gaseous pressure) is determined.    -   3. The maximum BTU content of the secondary fuel to the total of        BTUs of the primary fuel injection requested by the engine        control module 80 (% ratio) is determined.    -   4. The secondary fuel BTU volume is injected during the next        intake cycle.    -   5. The primary fuel injection pulse is shortened to allow only a        percentage of the BTUs of primary fuel (see #3 above) to be        injected during the injection event. (Total primary fuel        BTUs—Secondary fuel BTUs=total BTUs injected by both primary        fuel and secondary fuel injection.) In other words, a reduced        portion of BTUs from the primary fuel added to the BTUs provided        by the secondary fuel is the total BTU energy injected and is        equivalent to the number of BTUs that the engine control module        80 has requested based upon the primary fuel injector 50 and the        primary fuel injection pulse width.

These steps are repeated for every cylinder of a multi-cylinder dieselengine.

The precision blending controller 100 calculate each cylinder's 10 fuelenergy value for the next power cycle, appropriately reduces injectionvolume of the primary fuel (e.g., reducing the primary fuel injectorsignal's pulse width) and controls injection of the secondary fuelthereby operating the engine on a sequentially injected blend of primaryfuel and secondary fuel. The calculations prevent over fueling or underfueling problems inherent with single port and multi-port gaseousinjection systems that cannot control the fuel BTU value for eachcylinder thus causing an imbalance of the OEM's engine heat balanceformula.

If a fault is detected in the primary or secondary fuel injection systemor should the secondary fuel be depleted, the precision blendingcontroller 100 stops injection of the secondary fuel and passes theprimary fuel injection pulse signals from the engine control module 80to the primary fuel injector 50 intact, thereby restoring operation to astandard, OEM mode.

The algorithm used by the precision blending controller 100 analyzesengine efficiency to trim usage of the primary fuel and uses the methanesensor 34 in the exhaust system 30 to determine if over fueling hasoccurred.

The processor 120 of the precision blending controller 100 calculatesthe energy input to the engine by multiplying the primary fuel injectionpulse width (in microseconds) by the BTU value of the primary fuel permicrosecond.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 5A, a high level flow chart shows the operationof the processor 120 within the precision blending controller 100. Thefirst step is to read 200 the engine RPM (revolutions per minute), forexample, directly from the engine speed sensor 142 or from the enginecontrol module 80 through the car-area network 85. If the engine is atidle 202 (e.g. below a specific RPM), then the injection pulse from theengine control module 80 passes through 230 the precision blendingcontroller 100 to the primary fuel injector 50. In this way, during idleoperation, the engine operates entirely from the primary fuel (e.g.diesel fuel).

Injection of the secondary fuel, for example, compressed natural gas, isperformed during a time window between when the exhaust valve(s) closeand approximately 170 to 180 degrees of crankshaft 19 rotation to bottomdead center of the piston 14 during the intake stroke. The secondaryfuel injection window is limited to approximately 160 degrees to as highas 175 degrees of rotation to insure there is no methane that slips pastthe exhaust valve(s) 32 and that there is no loss of vacuum in thecylinder 10 as piston 14 reverses travel from a downward travel to anupward travel in cylinder 10. In the examples, this window is setarbitrarily at 150 degrees for brevity and simplification reasons.

If the engine is not at idle 202 (e.g. above or equal to a specificpredetermined RPM), then calculations 204/206/208/210/212 to determinehow much secondary fuel (e.g. compressed natural gas) is needed (e.g.supplemental amount of energy) based upon the primary fuel usage of theprevious primary fuel injection cycle of the engine and how muchsecondary fuel can be injected based upon the injection volume of thesecondary fuel injectors 60A/60B and the duration of time that thesecondary fuel window will be open.

The pulse width of the primary fuel injector 50 from the previousprimary fuel injection cycle is used to determine how much primary fuel(e.g. diesel) was to be injected in the previous primary fuel injectioncycle. The pulse width of the primary fuel injector 50 from the previouscycle is measured 208 (e.g. in microseconds) and that pulse width isused to determine how much primary fuel heat energy (BTUs) is beingrequested by the engine control module 80. The primary fuel injectionBTU content (e.g., total amount of heat energy required in this cylinderfor the current output horsepower) is determined from the enginemanufacturer's statement of fuel maximum delivery using an ASTMdesignated fuel of known BTU content as reported to the EPA and has beenentered into public record and accessible on the EPA website. Theprimary fuel pressure at the injector or rail pressure if such are usedin a fluctuating pressure fuel system are monitored and entered into theprimary fuel delivery equation. (for the sake of brevity and clarity afuel system that uses a variable primary fuel injection pressure systemis not discussed here). That notwithstanding, in some embodiments, forsome fuel systems, the primary fuel pressure is monitored to determinemaximum primary fuel injection BTU content. In either, a calculation ismade to determine the thermal unit content (e.g. in British ThermalUnits—BTU) of this volume of fuel 210.

It is desired to use less primary fuel (e.g. diesel) and more secondaryfuel (e.g. liquid natural gas) because the cost per thermal unit of theprimary fuel is much greater than the cost per thermal unit of thesecondary fuel. Therefore, the disclosed system looks to reduce theamount of primary fuel injected by reducing the pulse width provided tothe primary fuel injector 50 and supplement the heat that would havebeen provided by the primary fuel with an equivalent amount of heat fromthe secondary fuel by injecting the secondary fuel into the intake valveport of the cylinder 10.

Therefore, an injection window for the secondary window is calculated204 (e.g. the number of microseconds that the secondary fuel injectors60A/60B will be open) based upon the number of secondary fuel injectors60A/60B and the pressure of the secondary fuel (e.g. as read from thesecondary fuel pressure sensor 74). Now the total number of thermalunits (e.g. BTU) that can be injected by the secondary fuel injectors60A/60B during the injection window (e.g. 150 degrees) is calculated 206based upon the specifications of the secondary fuel (e.g. BTUs perliter) and the volume of secondary fuel that is possible to be injectedgiven the pressure of the secondary fuel, specifications of thesecondary fuel injectors 60A/60B, and the number of the secondary fuelinjectors 60A/60B.

A substitution ratio is calculated 212 that indicates the amount ofprimary fuel that can be replaced by an equal number of BTUs ofsecondary fuel. For example, a substitution ratio of 50% means that itis possible for only 50% of the needed BTUs to be replaced by thesecondary fuel due to a maximum time window, secondary fuel pressure andsecondary fuel injectors 60A/60B.

A maximum [safe] substitution ratio has been established, in thisexample, 85%, though this value is an arbitrary and settable thresholdthat can be adjusted higher or lower to accommodate various enginestyles, applications and designs. In this, even if the secondary fuelinjection system is capable of injecting sufficient secondary fuel toreplace more than 85% of the primary fuel, the injection is capped at85%. So, if the substitution ratio is greater than 85% 214, then thesubstitution ratio is set to 85% 216.

Now, the precision blending controller 100, at the proper time, opens218 the secondary fuel injectors 60A/60B for the appropriate amount oftime to inject the secondary fuel as signaled by the processor 120 ofthe precision blending controller 100, thus delivering the equivalentthermal units of the secondary fuel to the cylinder 10. When theprocessor 120 of the precision blending controller 100 receives theprimary fuel injector pulse from the engine control module 80, thecontroller reduces the pulse width of primary fuel injector pulse by thesubstitution ratio and sends the reduced primary fuel injection pulse tothe primary fuel injector 50. For example, if the substitution ratio is60%, then the primary fuel injector pulse is set to the pulse widthassociated with a reduction of 40% of the BTUs associated with thatprimary fuel injection pulse from the engine control module 80 and thesecondary fuel injectors 60A/60B are controlled to deliver a volume ofsecondary fuel that possesses an equivalent amount of thermal energy(BTUs) as would have been delivered by the amount of primary fuel thatwas not injected (e.g. 60% of the primary fuel heat energy (BTUs) thatwould have been injected).

In such, it is possible to replace the primary fuel energy heat value ofup to the maximum substitution ratio (e.g. 85%) of the primary fuel withan equivalent amount of secondary fuel (based upon thermal units of theprimary fuel and secondary fuel). This yields substantial savings basedupon the costs of the primary fuel in contrast with the costs of thesecondary fuel.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 6A, a detailed flow chart shows the operationof the processor 120 within the precision blending controller 100. Notethat the exact math and order of steps is an example as it is well knownto calculate certain values in different order and steps/equations.

The first step is to read 300 the engine RPM (revolutions per minute),for example, directly from the engine speed sensor 142 or from theengine control module 80 through the car-area network 85. The enginespeed is used to determine the maximum amount of secondary fuel that canbe injected.

If the engine is at idle 302 (e.g. below a specific RPM), then theinjection pulse from the engine control module 80 passes through 230 theprecision blending controller 100 to the primary fuel injector 50. Inthis way, during idle operation, the engine operates entirely from theprimary fuel (e.g. diesel fuel).

Injection of the secondary fuel, for example, compressed natural gas, isperformed during a time window between when the exhaust valve(s) closeand approximately 170 degrees to bottom dead center during the intakestroke. Many engines having a primary fuel of diesel fuel close theexhaust valve between 5 to 10 degrees past top dead center. Therefore,the secondary fuel injection window is limited to 160 degrees as high as175 degrees of rotation. In the examples, this window is set at 150degrees to prevent secondary fuel slip past the exhaust valve and toprevent stagnation of air that occurs toward the end of the intakecycle.

If the engine is not at idle 302 (e.g. above or equal to a specificRPM), then the BTU content of the primary fuel (PFBTU) from the previouscycle is determined 304 by multiplying the pulse width of the priorinjection pulse (PFIJPW) by the primary fuel BTUs that are injected pertime period (PFBTU_PT). For example, calculating in microseconds, if theprimary fuel injectors inject 1.2 BTUs of primary fuel per microsecond(PFBTU_PT=1.2) and the primary fuel injection pulse width is 4.5microseconds (PFIJPW=4.5), then in the prior cycle, 5.4 BTUs of primaryfuel was injected (PFBTU=5.4 BTUs).

Next, a calculation is made to determine the maximum amount of timepossible for secondary fuel injection based upon the current rotationalspeed of the engine (RPM) measured in revolutions per minute. First, thetime for a single cycle of the engine is calculated 306. The time for asingle cycle is calculated 306 by dividing a constant (60*106) by theengine rotational speed (RPM) times 360. This results in the time of anentire cycle of the engine at the current rotational speed (RPM).

Next, the maximum amount of secondary fuel that can be injected (MAX_SF)given the single cycle time is calculated 308. The maximum amount ofsecondary fuel that can be injected (MAX_SF) is calculated 308 bymultiplying the time for a single cycle (T_CYC) by the percentage of thecycle that is available for injection of the secondary fuel, or thesecondary fuel injection window (SFIW), multiplied by the flow rate of asingle secondary fuel injector (SFPT) in BTUs per time interval andmultiplied by the number of secondary fuel injectors (NSFI).

Now the required BTU (RQ_BTU) for the next engine cycle is calculated310 by multiplying the pulse width of the previous primary fuelinjection pulse (PFIJPW) by the primary fuel BTU content per period oftime (PFBTU_PT) as can be injected given the injection system of theengine. This is the same value as the primary fuel BTU (PFBTU). Forexample, if the BTU injection rate expressed in BTU per microsecond is1.1 BTU/microsecond, and the previous primary fuel injection pulse widthwas 8 microseconds, then the BTU content of the primary fuel that wasrequested to be injected in the last cycle by the engine control module80 was 8.8 BTUs. This is the amount of heat required to run the engineat the current RPM and required horsepower.

So far, the maximum secondary fuel injection (in BTUs) and the priorprimary fuel injection (in BTUs) have been calculated. A targetsubstitution ratio (TRGT) is set as a constant for the engine, forexample, 85%. This means that, even if the secondary fuel injectors60A/60B are capable of injecting more than 85% of the total requiredBTUs, the secondary fuel injection is limited to 85% and, therefore,there is never a situation in which less than 15% of the required BTUfor this cylinder is delivered from the primary fuel.

If the maximum secondary fuel injection (MAX_SF) is less than the totalrequired BTU times the target substitution rate (TRGT) 312, then thetarget substitution rate cannot be satisfied by the secondary fuelinjectors 60A/60B and the substitution ratio (SUBST_RTIO) is set 314 tothe maximum secondary fuel injection (MAX_SF) divided by the totalrequired BTU (RQBTU). In other words, the secondary fuel injectors60A/60B cannot provide sufficient BTUs of secondary fuel, so thesubstitution ratio is set to provide the maximum secondary fuel that canbe injected.

If the maximum secondary fuel injection (MAX_SF) is not less than(greater than or equal) the total required BTU times the targetsubstitution rate (TRGT) 312, then the target substitution rate can beachieved and the substitution ratio (SUBST_RTIO) is set to the targetsubstitution ratio (TRGT), for example, 85% as has been determined.

Injection of the secondary fuel is performed during a time windowbetween when the exhaust valve(s) close and approximately 170 to 180degrees to bottom dead center during the intake stroke. Now, theprecision blending controller 100 waits for the exhaust valve closure320 of the current cylinder. After the exhaust valve closure 320 of thecurrent cylinder, the precision blending controller 100 opens 322 thesecondary fuel injectors 60A/60B for an amount of time equivalent to thesecondary fuel injection window times the target substitution ratio(TRGT) divided by the substitution ratio SUBST_RTIO. For example, if thetarget substitution ratio (TRGT) is 85% and the substitution ratioSUBST_RTIO is 85%, then the secondary fuel injectors 60A/60B are openedfor the entire injection window, delivering the equivalent thermal unitsof the secondary fuel to the cylinder 10. Similarly, if the targetsubstitution ratio (TRGT) is 85% and the substitution ratio SUBST_RTIOis 50%, then the secondary fuel injectors 60A/60B are opened for 50/85(e.g. 59%) of entire injection window.

When the precision blending controller 100 receives 340 the primary fuelinjector pulse (PF_INJ_P) from the engine control module 80, theprecision blending controller 100 reduces the pulse width of primaryfuel injector pulse by the substitution ratio (SUBST_RTIO) Thisreduction of the primary fuel injection pulse width is accomplished byintercepting the primary fuel injection pulse and sinking primary fuelinjection pulse into a dummy load 112 (e.g. coil). The primary fuelpulse is thus shortened to a length equal to the pulse length associatedto the heat energy (BTU's) that will be required during the next primaryfuel injection event. The amount of time alteration is determined fromthe primary fuel injection pulse width of the previous primary fuelinjection cycle (PFIJPW) multiplied by the substitution ratio(SUBST_RTIO). The processor of the precision blending controller 100calculates the length of the primary injection pulse required for theprimary fuel injector 50 to inject the balance of the heat energyrequired for this primary fuel injection cycle. At the correct time forprimary fuel injection, the engine control module 80 sends the pulse toprimary fuel injector 50 through the primary fuel injection bypassmodule 110. At the proper pre-calculated length of primary fuelinjection pulse length, the primary fuel injection bypass module 110 ofthe precision blending controller 100 sends the primary fuel injectionpulse to the dummy load 112. Switching the primary injection pulse tothe dummy load 112, turns off the primary fuel injector in our exampleand the cycle is complete. The example given is for an primary fuelinjector 50 that is electronically controlled by one energized coil. Inthe case that the injector of the fuel system is energized by a firstelectrical coil and is de-energized by a second electrical coil, a pulsemust be generated by the precision blending controller 100 to close thecoil but will switch the closing impedance back to the engine controlmodule 80 to avoid the engine control module 80 sensing a false coilfault with the respective injector. (Details of this type system are notdiscussed for brevity and clarity) This function in turn is repeated foreach cylinder 10 of a multi-cylinder engine.

When the primary fuel injector pulse (PF_INJ_P), the primary fuelinjector 50 closes, completing the cycle. For example, if thesubstitution ratio is 60% and the primary fuel injection pulse width is10 microseconds, then the delay is 60% times 10 microseconds, or 6microseconds, resulting in a 4 microsecond primary fuel injector pulsewidth, delivering 40% of the required BTUs from the primary fuel. Inthis example, the BTU content of the secondary fuel injected in thatcycle would be equivalent to the BTU content of 60% of the primary fuelthat would have been injected (e.g., the requested amount of primaryfuel by the engine control module).

FIG. 7 shows a generic formula for diesel injection supplemented bycompressed natural gas.

FIG. 8 shows a sample calculation of parameters for a diesel fuel enginewith supplemental compressed natural gas injection.

FIG. 9 shows a sample diesel replacement rate for a diesel fuel (primaryfuel) engine with supplemental compressed natural gas (secondary fuel)injection. For example, in the first line, the diesel injection pulsewidth from the engine control module 80 is 500us. This equates to 2.747BTUs per primary fuel injection event for the example engine. To obtainthe total 2.747 BTUs needed for the next cycle, 2.335 BTUs of naturalgas are injected through the injectors 60A/60B and the diesel injectionpulse width is reduced from 500us down to 75us, thereby delivering 0.412BTU worth of diesel fuel (primary fuel).

Equivalent elements can be substituted for the ones set forth above suchthat they perform in substantially the same manner in substantially thesame way for achieving substantially the same result.

It is believed that the system and method as described and many of itsattendant advantages will be understood by the foregoing description. Itis also believed that it will be apparent that various changes may bemade in the form, construction and arrangement of the components thereofwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention or withoutsacrificing all of its material advantages. The form herein beforedescribed being merely exemplary and explanatory embodiment thereof. Itis the intention of the following claims to encompass and include suchchanges.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of calculating a supplemental fuelreplacement quantity comprising: means for calculating an amount of timeavailable for injection of the supplemental fuel based upon a rotationalspeed of a crankshaft of an engine; means for calculating a total amountof heat energy required by the engine for a next cycle; means forcalculating a supplemental amount of heat energy that is to be providedby the supplemental fuel; means for reducing an amount of a primary fuelto be provided to a cylinder of the engine during the next cycle; meansfor providing an amount of the supplemental fuel to the cylinder of theengine during the next cycle, the amount of the supplemental fuel issufficient to provide the supplemental amount of heat energy.
 2. Themethod of calculating the supplemental fuel replacement quantity ofclaim 1, wherein the primary fuel is diesel.
 3. The method ofcalculating the supplemental fuel replacement quantity of claim 1,wherein the supplemental fuel is natural gas.
 4. The method ofcalculating the supplemental fuel replacement quantity of claim 1,wherein the supplemental fuel is compressed natural gas.
 5. The methodof calculating the supplemental fuel replacement quantity of claim 1,wherein the supplemental fuel is liquefied natural gas.
 6. The method ofcalculating the supplemental fuel replacement quantity of claim 1,wherein the means for reducing an amount of the primary fuel that isprovided to the cylinder comprises reducing a width of a primary fuelinjection pulse from an engine control module that is provided to aprimary fuel injector interfaced to the cylinder.
 7. The method ofcalculating the supplemental fuel replacement quantity of claim 6,whereas the width of the primary fuel injection pulse is reduced by atime period that is proportional to the supplemental amount of the heatenergy that is to be provided to the cylinder by the supplemental fuel.9. A method of supplementing a primary fuel with a secondary fuel in anengine, the method comprising: calculating a maximum amount of secondaryfuel that can be injected into a cylinder of the engine during a cycleof the engine; calculating a maximum amount of heat energy provided bythe maximum amount of the secondary fuel that can be injected into thecylinder of the engine during the cycle of the engine; calculating atotal amount of heat energy needed by the cylinder given the primaryfuel and a primary fuel injection pulse width; determining a replacementratio by comparing the maximum amount of heat energy provided by themaximum amount of secondary fuel with the total amount of heat energyneeded; injecting an amount of the secondary fuel into the intake valveport of the cylinder determined by the replacement ratio; and reducing awidth of the primary fuel injection pulse provided to a primary fuelinjector of the cylinder based upon the replacement ratio.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the primary fuel is diesel.
 11. The method ofclaim 9, wherein the secondary fuel is natural gas.
 12. The method ofclaim 9, wherein the secondary fuel is compressed natural gas.
 13. Themethod of claim 9, further comprising before the step of injection, thestep of: if the replacement ratio is greater than a predeterminedmaximum replacement ratio, setting the replacement ratio to thepredetermined maximum replacement ratio.
 14. The method of claim 9,wherein the calculating of the maximum amount of heat energy provided bythe maximum amount of the secondary fuel that can be injected into thecylinder of the engine during the cycle of the engine is performed usingthe secondary fuel thermal energy content per unit volume, a number ofsecondary fuel injectors interfaced to the intake valve port of thecylinder, a flow rate of each of the secondary fuel injectors, and atime window that is proportional to a rotational speed of a crankshaftof the engine.
 15. A secondary fuel injection system comprising: asource of secondary fuel; a secondary fuel injector fluidly coupled tothe source of secondary fuel, the secondary fuel injector electricallycontrolled to inject an amount of the secondary fuel into an intakevalve port of a cylinder of an engine; a processor receiving a signalindicating a rotational speed of a crankshaft of the engine; softwarerunning on the processor configured to calculate an amount of timeavailable for injection of the secondary fuel into the intake valve portof a the cylinder; the software configured to calculate an amount ofheat energy required by the engine for a next cycle by multiplying awidth of a primary fuel injection pulse received from an engine controlmodule by an amount of heat energy per time period based upon aspecification of the engine; the software configured to calculate asupplemental amount of heat energy that is to be provided to the engineby injection of the secondary fuel based upon the amount of timeavailable for injection of the secondary fuel; the software configuredto electrically control the secondary fuel injector to open after anrespective exhaust valve of the engine closes for a period of timerequired to provide the supplemental amount of heat energy from thesecondary fuel; and the software configured to provide a shortenedinjection pulse to a primary fuel injector interfaced to the cylinderresponsive to receiving a subsequent primary fuel injection pulse fromthe engine control module, a width of the shortened injection pulse isproportional to an amount of primary fuel having a heat energy that isequivalent to the amount of heat energy required minus the supplementalamount of heat energy.
 16. The secondary fuel injection system of claim15, wherein the primary fuel is diesel.
 17. The secondary fuel injectionsystem of claim 15, wherein the secondary fuel is natural gas.
 18. Thesecondary fuel injection system of claim 15, wherein the secondary fuelis compressed natural gas.
 19. The secondary fuel injection system ofclaim 15, wherein the secondary fuel is liquefied natural gas.
 20. Thesecondary fuel injection system of claim 15, wherein the signalindicating a rotational speed of the crankshaft of the engine is from anengine timing signal.